Employers Reinsurance Corporation employees Gary Butler, western territory black belt, and Jason Mostofsky, facultative property underwriter, were recently honored by the CPCU Society. Butler and Mostofsky received the National Outstanding Research Project Award for a paper they co-authored analyzing the increasing roles of banks in the insurance business. Their research on this topic was recognized as “breaking new ground” in several areas.

CF Nets First Place Award from PRSA

Commercial Finance’s (CF’s) 1998 direct mail campaign, “Leverage Globalnet” won first place in the Public Relations Society of America’s regional contest. As a direct result of the campaign, CF has closed two deals and has several more in the pipeline.

Banana Republic and GECCS Launch Successful Program

GE Capital Card Services recently introduced a loyalty program to help clothing retailer Banana Republic recognize and reward their best customers. The Banana Republic Card was piloted in 43 Mid-Atlantic stores and pro-duced impressive results in just a few months, surpassing initial goals by a significant margin. The success of the national roll out to all 278 Banana Republic stores late last year outpaced the pilot.

GECC Funds EPA/Honeywell New ENERGY STARR Loan

GE Capital Card Services, the US Environmental Protection Agency and Honeywell have teamed up to pilot a new ENERGY STARR loan. The program provides consumers a financing option for the purchase of heating systems.

Businesses Join Forces for Broad Range of Investments

The Financial Services & Health Care Group has funded a $3 million investment in 401k Forum, Inc., the first on-line provider of personalized, independent investment advice for 401(k) participants. The company’s product helps employees determine how much to save and how to invest savings in order to meet retirement goals. The investment was split equally among Equity Capital Group and GE Financial Assurance.

In addition, through the Financial Services & Health Care Group, Equity Capital Group, GE Capital Card Services and GE Financial Assurance have equally funded an $8 million investment in Sky Alland Marketing. Sky Alland is a marketing services company providing full-service customer relationship management programs for blue chip clients in the automotive, building products, financial services, health care, travel/leisure, and utility sectors. The company’s programs improve retention and maximize long-term customer value.

Equity Capital Group and GE Capital Card Services have made a $50 million investment in First Data Corporation. First Data is the market leader in outsourced check processing, merchant processing, electronic payments and money transfers.